Owenstown public hearing begins next Tuesday

Ron Harris

THE fate of the £500m plan to create a new town the size of Lanark in the Douglas Valley hangs on the result of a major three-day public hearing starting on Tuesday.

Called by the Scottish Government, it will listen to the arguments for and against the building of Owenstown, the planned new community with homes for 3200 and creating 10,000 jobs on a 400 acre site near Rigside.

The project’s bid for planning permission was knocked back by South Lanarkshire Council last year and the Appeal Hearing against that decision will take place in Rigside Community Centre.

The developers, The Hometown Foundation, will try to convince the government-appointed planning reporter conducting the hearing that the benefits to not only the Clydesdale economy but the whole country’s would be best served by overturning that council decision.

The hearing is due to run from Tuesday to Thursday and will be open to the public.